How Victor Olofsson (yes, him!) saved the Golden Knights against Blackhawks

In a season series that was both brilliant and exhausting (often within minutes of each other), tonight it ends on a better note. The Golden Knights beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3, fueled by a three-goal third period that steered things away from a disappointing note to clinching the first winning road trip since December 12-15, 2024. It was a little gloopy and messy at times, but ultimately one that puts Vegas another step closer to the Pacific Division title. Here are my three takeaways from a night that was somewhere between “The Bear” and one of the “Chicago PD” shows.

The long awaited bloom of Victor Olofsson

The last time Victor Olofsson scored a goal in a Golden Knights uniform, fire aid was still a week away. Bill Belichick and Jordan Hudson were just about to transition from a gossipy item for NFL fans to one for “Gossip/Internet Obsessed” people. Also, Vegas was just coming off a month-long funk that’d eventually take them back to the top of the Pacific. Suffice it to say, it’s been awhile since there’s something exciting to talk about when it comes to him. To quote an old saying, “Better late than never.”

Olofsson had two goals and an assist on the night, his first three-point game as a Golden Knight and first multi-point game since January 14 at Nashville. There was a spark and a liveliness to his game all night that has been impossible to spot over these last couple months. If this is a sign of a return to that November/December form, that is just a pit of good news for this team down the stretch.

Adin Hill continues stellar March with fourth straight win

This one wasn’t as strong for Adin Hill’s as the Minnesota game on Tuesday night, but it was still a steady and workmanlike effort from him. There were multiple times throughout the game he had to deal with a sizable gap in time between shots on goal from the Blackhawks, which ended up turning into the hat trick by Ryan Donato- not great. But he was still able to steady the wall- especially in the third- that would ultimately turn into the Pavel Dorofeyev goal that became the game winner.

The win makes it 7-1-1 for Hill in the month of March with a 2.11 GAA. Given whoever may end up being on the other end of the ice in the first round a month from now, this is the kind of rhythm you want the number one goaltender to be at.

Power play finds a new way to inspire for the Golden Knights

Vegas had their fifth straight game with a power play goal, and 12th overall in the month of March. That’s all good, but it was on the first power play early in the second that although it didn’t result in anything, it ended up becoming a big gamechanger in retrospect. The Golden Knights doubled up their shot output from the entire first period the first 4:33 after that power play ended. Then Mark Stone and Victor Olofsson scored within 47 seconds of each other, and the offense freed up to a point that made that third period goal rush possible.

Next on the Marquee:

It’s a Saturday afternoon road trip ending jaunt to Nashville to take on the Predators at 3:30 P.M. They’ve already started to pack it in for the season for the most part, though they still have the tendency to rob a game or two along the way. For example, there’s the Carolina game from Tuesday night where Juuse Saros had 34 saves and dragged them to a 3-1 win. Given that we play them one more April 12 on Fan Appreciation Knight, it’d behoove this team not to end up as Example B. Until then…